THE HAUNTED OMNIBUS
Edited by Alexander Laing '25, and illustrated by Lynd Ward; New York, Farrar anc Rinehart, Inc., 1937; pp. 846; $3-00.
Both those who like spooky fiction an those who think that they don't will fin good reading in this unorthodox and pro" fusely illustrated collection of eerie taks' In making his selections, Mr. Laing, has never seen a ghost and never expeCts to, wisely proceeded on the theory that "a good ghost story should concern itself with matters worthy of our interest and atten- tion if the ghost were never to appear" and that "many of the best ghost stories are not terrifying." Moreover, if he does not believe in spooks as traditionally conceived, he has no doubts about hallucinations, whether whimsical or frightening. In consequence he has produced an unusual gallery of the credibly haunted, and a collection of genuinely haunting stories.
Of the forty-two stories in The HauntedOmnibus only some half dozen have often been reprinted, and the average reader should find a considerable majority of those included unfamiliar. This is a collection of ably written and interestingly varied fiction. I here are a few selections from ancient and medieval writings, but most are modern and some are recent. In mood, the stories range through horror and urbane with and even whimsey; in setting, through a fair share of the world; and in length, from two hundred words to one hundred and fifty pages.
Mr. Laing's chief aim, according to his oreword, has been "to prove by example | at the ghost story is a varied and delightul, as well as a hackle-raising, form of literary art. The Haunted Omnibus confirms this contention. In it are brought together, among others, stories by Dußose Heyward, A.E.Coppard,O. Henry, de Maupassant, "saki," Stevenson, Lafcadio Hearn, May Sinclair, Alexander Woollcott, Bierce, Poe, Michael Arlen, Gertrude Atherton, and Edith Wharton. The sequence—except for my omissions—is Mr. Laing's. For he has happily arranged the stories neither chronologtcally nor according to arbitrarily designated types. but for continuous reading Thus he lures the reader onward with the promise of suitably contrasting moods and techniques as well as with the numerous anecdotes which he has interspersed to whet the appetites of unbelievers.
The Union Catalog by Donald B. Gilchrist '13 appears in the February issue of the Bulletin of the American Library Association.
Beef, hog, calf, and lamb livers as sourcesof Vitamin A by Arthur D. Holmes '06, in collaboration with Francis Tripp and G. Howard Satterfield, has been reprinted from Food Research for September-October.
Charles O'Neill '31 is the author of House warming which appears in the February issue of Story.
The salt effect in the rearrangement ofBenzil o-Carboxylic Acid, by F. H. West- heimer '32 has been reprinted from TheJournal of Organic Chemistry for September. Mr. Westheimer is also the author of The kinetics of the Benzilic Acid rearrangement which has been reprinted from the Journal of the American Chemical Society, vol. 58.
Warren A. Cook '23 is the author of The Industrial hygiene laboratory, reprinted from the November issue of TheJournal of Industrial Hygiene.
The January issue of Words contains an article by Jason A. Russell '20 entitled American Indian metaphorical expressions.
The Retiring Message of Charles M.Smith 'pi, Governor of the state of Vermont to the General Assembly delivered January 7, 1937 has been published as a pamphlet of 10 pages.
Charting America's news of the WorldWar by H. Schuyler Foster Jr. '25 was reprinted from the January, 1937 issue of Foreign Affairs, an American QuarterlyReview.
Forest management and skiing terrainin the White Mountain National Forest, by Robert S. Monahan '29 appears in the January 22 issue of The Ski Bulletin. Mr. Monahan also has an article in AmericanForests for January entitled Snow Bowl.
An appeal for a new state prison forfirst offenders and the abandonment of theold Chariest own State Prison by Lewis Parkhurst '78 has been published as a pamphlet of seven pages.
Dr. Creighton Barker '13 is the author of A case report reprinted from the Yale Journal of Biology and Medicine for December.
Volume 5 of the American Caravan called the New Caravan edited by Alfred Kreymborg, Lewis Mumford and Paul Rosenfeld, published by W. W. Norton, New York, contains two poems TheCromlech and Good Wives by Raoul Denney '32.
The December number of the NewHampshire Troubador contains an article The "observer" cleans the cellar by Arthur B. Rotch '08. This article has been reprinted from Mr. Rotch's weekly column in the Milford Cabinet.
L. Sherman Adams '20 has an article The future of forest industry in the February issue of American Forests.
The older alumni will be interested in an article dealing with the murder of Christie Warden by Frank Almy which appears in the March issue of College Humor. This article by Edmund Pearson, well known writer, is entitled Murder off thecampus.
